


Scotland War Z

by RipperBlackstaff



Series: The Rushbelle adventures [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Stargate Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-15
Updated: 2014-01-15
Packaged: 2018-01-08 20:55:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1137295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RipperBlackstaff/pseuds/RipperBlackstaff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nicholas Rush and Belle are back on Earth, and hell strikes them again. They survived deep space, can they survive zombies ?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scotland War Z

Dr Nicholas Rush and Belle French were at home when Glasgow was invaded. The news of the invasion had of course been known, but it had struck so hard and so fast everyone was surprised. That kind of rage struck humans only and if there was one infected anywhere in the world, the area was considered lost. In a week, the south of the United Kingdom had been lost, the communications had ceased, only local TV channels kept on broadcasting. Unfortunately, only news from the area could be given, considering the other areas were not reachable anymore. Edinburgh had been lost 2 days ago and since then, only news from 20 miles around Glasgow were available. 

The infected kept hunting for more fresh meat and so went north. People were fleeing, more and more toward north. Nicholas Rush figured running was a loss of time and used his time to organise resistance. Belle French, his live-in assistant, and fellow Destiny survivor, had quite disagreed and had tried contacting the Homeworld Command Center but with no success. Every communication means were off and the electricity were cut now. Rush had procured them powerful walkies talkies and he and Belle kept in touch this way when separated.

Rush's plan was to wait until the first wave of infected was past them and then go south, avoiding the hords and numerous groups of infected. In his mind, he avoided saying zombies, because in a way, they were not, and the word conveyed a measure of supernatural panic. After all, the infected were not dead. They were not dead until their brain was destroyed. The sickness gave them brutal strength, amazing speed and a hunger beyond imagination. Rush was convinced it was impossible to escape them so he didn't understand what the panic was. Better to organise, adapt and go in the opposite direction.

He had turned their house into a mini fortress, nailing wood boards to the ground floor windows and doors, an escape through the cellar whose doors leading outside had been strengthened. The first floor had been reinforced too and windows sealed shut. 

He had prepared a SUV too. Despite believing in silence and discreetion, the first kilometers should also be made with speed and powerful bumpers. In case they could keep it long, they each had readied a bag of clothes, and tanks of gas. 

Belle had procured bicycles for them, and had bought herself arrows and bow. They had both reasoned the less dependant on technology and the more silent they were, the better. Since the young woman had been rescued from the blue aliens' planet where she had been kidnapped from her own planet, she had proved herself quite useful as to non technologic things. Her own planethad been quite medieval, and she knew archery, herbs and mushrooms. Surprisingly, she was so smart she had adapted herself to Destiny, and then Earth easily, and Nicholas Rush had taken her under his wings. 

When back on Earth, they started living together. He had yelled at the scientists wanting to interrogate her about what she knew and literally kidnapped her. Young, O'Neill and Carter had put their foot to protect the Scotman and the Alien and with time, they had managed to withdraw to Scotland, in the suburbs of Glasgow, as Nicholas and Belle Rush. Belle not having an official Earth name, she had taken Nicholas' and when they had moved in together, everyone they met in Glasgow had assumed they were married, although they weren't together.

And now, the shit hit the fan again. With zombies. Infected, rather. At least, Rush and Belle were ready for anything. 

The day Glasgow fell was a friday. A cloudy and rainy friday as Scotland made them all the time. The Infected were heard from afar, gloomy and neverending moans of painful starvation. They were a legion... Their victims had risen back to their feet and started to follow them... The more they walked, the more they were. Then the noise of their steps beating, scraping the ground... They defiled through the empty streets like a parody of military parade, the everlasting complaint as the music to their steps. Then came the screams, the very human screams of people being slaughtered, eaten like defenseless lambs. The Infected threw themselves at anything living, befalling onto them like waves on a beach, quartering them and if the unfortunate victims were lucky, their head was smashed and they didn't rise to join their tormentors' rank.

Nicholas had removed the fuse of the house for more protection. No light, no warmth, no motion. Nicholas pressed his front to her back and his arms around Belle as they pressed their face to the cracks to watch the Infected pass by. She was trembling slightly, and he hooked his chin over her shoulder to soothe her. He didn't dare whisper to her in case the Infected had good natural senses. A poor man ran in their garden, followed by several dozen of Infected. He was caught not too far, in their line of sight. The lucky ones started to eat him.

The scientist in Nicholas got triggered and started to note mentally every little observations he noted.  
\- Flesh rotted on the Infected, so the rottier, the older.  
\- They didn't have a hierarchic pack behaviour. The first catching the prey started to eat it and the others followed, even fighting to get some bites.   
\- A victim took 21 seconds to turn into an Infected.   
\- The moment a healthy victim turned into an Infected, the others stopped eating him, as if being a cannibal was not possible.   
\- The victim joined the ranks of his killers without having a grudge and without attacking them.

Of course, Rush knew this was hypothetical and he'd need to witness more of this before confirming those theories and making them facts. 

It took a long moment for the way to be cleared during which they stayed still as statues, both leaning into the other to relieve their feet.   
"We need to go now." Rush finished by whispering, half an hour after the moans of the Infected had stopped being heard.   
"What if there is a second wave ?"  
"When they hit Glasgow, some will wander back here. We can't risk being there when they're back. We're not ready yet for such a fight. We can take out one on his own but no more, Belle."

Belle looked at Nicholas, and saw his eyes scared for her, and how determined he was to save them. She had trusted him with her life back in space, she had trusted him when he had risked the Destiny herself to go back to Earth.   
"Alright, let's go."

Belle had modified two leather belts to add a swiss army knife and a hunting knife but also easily reachable pointy screwdrivers, two on each sides, and separated enough so that they didn't clink together when walking. Belle had arrows in a sheath around her back to be taken by her right hand and planned on wrapping the bow around herself so that it could be grabbed with her left hand. Nicholas had a backbag on which a baseball bat in a sheath was hung, like samourais. Nicholas had made protections for their forearms in kevlar and teflon plastic, ending before elbows not to disturb motions. Belle had worried about how something so thin could possibly be solid but teflon plastic was one of the most solid and light plastic. 

They took the bicycles out of the house, in total silence. They had chosen to travel fast and hard at first. They loaded the cycles into Rush's SUV and they both got inside, and put their beltseat on. Rush was behind the wheel. They each had a warm coat ready to be grabbed in a mad dash out. Rush had tried to plan everything, from a long SUV drive to having to cycle or run with a light packing  
"I'll have to teach you a little about driving, Belle." He said matter of factly. "If I'm... not available to do it, you'll have to drive away."  
"I know" She answered after a silence, not wanting to consider for a moment being alone in that mess. Belle was brave, she could face whatever life fitched at us, but there was still so many things she couldn't use, and this country was almost foreign to her, despite having read about its history, its geography... Books and real life weren't the same after all. "Let's just hope we don't get separated."  
"I won't let that happen. The only thing able to separate us will be death."  
"Oh Nicholas..." She stroked his hand on the gear.  
"Let's get the hell out of here."

Rush started the engine, and drove down the street. The radio was on but emitted only crackles. After a while, Belle turned it off.   
"This sound is nerve-wracking, Nicholas."  
"I agree."

It was the middle of the afternoon and the bleak sun lighted sceneries of death and massacres. They could see blood traces, bodies eaten next to Infected's rotted bodies with destroyed heads.  
Belle observed a bit then focused on Nicholas' green sturdy backbag. She had helpt pack it. She needed to take her head off the surroundings, so she opened it and checked if everything that was on the list they had made was inside : two dynamo-powered flashlights, pills to clean non-potable water to make it drinking water, smoked meat and dried fruits, a first aid kit with meds, and energy bars. A foldable shovel was hung on the side of the bag.

Nicholas tried to keep away from the main roads. The landscapes were deserted and they saw cars burning , bodies half eaten and several Infected wandering around. Rush made sure to drive over them, hitting them with the impressive bumper of the SUV. They drove East keeping on the M8 and they reached Paisley after a twenty minutes drive. 

The highway was clustered with empty cars and in every one of them, corpses and blood. The SUV pushed the cars and frayed itself a slow way between the queues of cars. rush imagined that there had been a traffic jam when everyone tried to leave town in the same moment, and everyone had ended up in that huge big trap. In the end, the winners were the Infected. 

Rush was getting more and more nervous. They had no choice but to be on this highway for now, and they would be at least until they passed Erskine Bridge. After the Bridge, once they had crossed the Great Western Road, they would drive in countryside and small roads made it better. Places with people were bound to attract Infected while empty spaces were more attractive to him now. 

He was driving toward an empty space right now. The isle of Rum. Rush had spent hours over maps of Scotlands and on the internet studying islands, and possible safe places. He didn't trust big towns, he didn't trust the army to make shelters... The Isle of Rum was part of a four islands, it was the biggest one, and a good distance away from the shores. It was also very tricky to sail there, considering neither he or Belle were sailors.

Nicholas glanced at Belle. She was pale, nearly white, and was looking down at her shoes. His mouth turned down in a bitter grimace, he felt sorry for her. She had been kidnapped by Aliens on her home planet, been rescued by the Destiny, and was adapting on a new planet, and now this. It was a huge mess. He liked her and would have wanted better for her. He had kept her with him, and on the spaceship and now, she's been his protegee. He had tried so hard not to let her niceness, her smartness and her strength open him like forceps, and she had wormed her way into his heart. Now, he loved her. He was not in love with her, but only because of tremenduous efforts on his parts. It didn't prevent him from behaving with her like a dragon protecting his treasure. He was a possessive man, and even if Belle wasn't his per say, he made sure every males knew he was her protector. Belle didn't know, or if she did, she didn't care. 

"How are you coping ?" He asked softly not to startle her. He needed to know if she could be reliable or not.   
"What do you think ?" Belle replied in an abrupt voice.  
"I guess it's a stupid question..."  
"Yes." 

The woman was not in a good mood. Rush focused on forcing their way through the ocean of cars, when a brutal lurch came from behind them. An Infected had rammed himself into the chest of their car. Fortunately the rear bumper had absorbed the hit but what was a human before was now yelling and trying to climb over the car to access his next lunch, them. 

Rush glanced at Belle, she was turned toward the rear window, frozen, pure terror carved on her face.   
"Belle, look at me."

Belle didn't react, she was staring behind at the Infected hitting furiously the car and spitting at the window, yelling all in frustration. Rush grunted, grabbed the baseball bat and exited the car quickly. 

The noise of the door opening drew the Infected's attention and Rush felt his guts ice up when the inhuman pupils turn on him. They were yellow like pus, with white interjected in them. It was gaunt, drooling blood and its clothes were torn and bloody. It threw itself onto Rush. Fortunately, it hit the corner of the car chest, and bumped backward before lauching itself onto Rush again. It bought the scientist two precious seconds to snap out of his shock. 

The Infected's assault threw Rush onto his back in a heavy fall and it jumped on him, trying to bite. His breath was cut, and he tried to gasp air in his lungs. Rush kept his hands flat on the Infected's shoulders and arms straight to prevent it being able to bite. Funny how watching a rape prevention course from afar at the university of Berkeley could help in such a situation. 

The Infected roared in frustration above him but it was unable to access to him for now. Nick craned his neck, daring take his eyes off the thing for now. He looked all around for the baseball bat he had dropped when he got rammed. Looking to his right, he saw it. Unfortunately, his weapon had rolled under the car and was out of reach. He mentally swore, his glaswegian roots opening the mental floodgate of bad words. A sticky glob of yellowing drool landed on his chest, and Rush felt like puking. 

Rush was a pragmatic and realistic man. And right now, he was stuck. The Beast over him wanted to eat him, he had found a way to block him, but they could stay like this for hours. 

Suddenly, the Infected went limp and slid between Rush’s arms to land on his chest, smearing its drool between them. A shadow fell over him and through squinting eyes, he saw Belle standing over him, over them, a bloody screwdriver in her hand. He glanced at the Infected and saw a perfect round hole in its temple, seeping yellowish stuff.  
"Belle ! Back away !"   
"Nicholas ?"  
"BACK OFF ! I have his blood on my skin !"

Belle seemed to understand that Rush was scared to turn into an Infected and the next 21 seconds were spent in hellish tension. 

Rush stayed under the body to hinder himself in case he turned and Belle went back to the passenger side of the car. 

After a minute was gone, Rush allowed himself to relax and forcefully removed the Infected from him. He observed the surroundings, tried to listen for noises but everything was calm. He sighed in relief and turned to Belle, who was staring at him with wide eyes.   
"It's fine." He wanted to try to be soothing, but it wasn't natural to him. If she was the one doing the comforting, she'd wrap her arms around the person, and would whisper nonsense in their ear. He couldn't. So Nicholas Rush did the only thing he knew to do, being efficient and quick-thinking. 

He removed his jumper, and tossed it over the car roof.  
"Clean the screwdriver before sheathing it back. We're not taking the jumper with us."

His undershirt was soaked too, so removed too. He shivered in the Scottish weather and opened the car trunk to take another jumper from his bag of clothes. He felt disgusting, he wanted to wash, but he had to do with clean clothes only, even if they felt already soiled from touching his skin. 

They both got in the car, and Rush drove away, carefully. Belle was observing him quietly, it made his shoulders burn with tension.  
"Where are we going ?" She ended up asking.  
"We're going to the Isle of Rum."


End file.
